Girlfriend On Mars

7. "Please, be quiet"

Seven.

"Please, be quiet."

Jen waltzed into science a few days later, apologising flatly to Miss Lyons, before walking through the middle of the room to her seat beside Marley. Marley was hoping that the two would be able to move past the weird friendliness they shared a few days earlier; she'd done well at ignoring the older girl or keeping the conversation short.

They'd established why Jen was being so weird towards her and for nights, the words had swum through Marley's brain. She'd decided that she would try hard to cut Jen out, show her that they could never be friends. The soccer team was already acting strange with her, they were suspicious—they probably believed the two were friends. Marley would try as hard as she could to convince them otherwise. Someone on top of the school food chain could not be associating with the likes of Jen Archer. Marley wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone anyway, she felt entirely deflated.

Jen wasn't too surprised when she hopped onto her seat and didn't get any kind of greeting from Marley. It didn't faze or discourage her in the slightest. She gazed at the blonde as she applied her lip gloss then pulled out her class book. Marley was trying hard to not to look back at the older girl, she was focused on the front of the room, watching the teacher write something on the board about atoms.

Jen thought Marley looked especially attractive that day, with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and with her face free of any make-up. Jen's eyes trailed over the slope of her nose down to the curve of rosy lips which were slightly ajar as she watched the front of the room. Her freckled, peachy skin was highlighted by a strip of sunlight that had filtered through the window on the far side of the room.

The older girl leaned into the blonde slowly, speaking close to her body. "I got a job."

Marley jumped, and shuffled back as far as she could in her lab seat. She didn't reply, just remained with her round, wavering green-blue eyes fixed on Jen. The older girl just smiled, waiting to elaborate on her excitement. She had got a job, a solid, legal source of income that she felt eager to talk about. She didn't exactly think Marley would care, she just wanted to say it to someone—somebody who she wanted to talk to.

"Just something small." She shrugged. "Working at a store near my house."

Marley didn't reply again. Her lips were pursed in a thin, straight line as she carried on staring at a smiling Jen.

"The interview was last night; the owner is actually a really nice guy." Jen continued, leaning into her palm as she talked, gazing at an expressionless Marley.

The younger girl was quiet, aloof as she was usually seen, but to Jen she seemed melancholy. There was a sadness tugging at her features, something Jen felt compelled to reach out and erase from her pretty face. It made the dark-haired girl's smile falter and concern set itself in.

"What's wrong?" She asked gently, no longer grinning or joking. She hated seeing that expression, she hated it more than she should have cared. "Rhodes?"

Marley looked away from her slowly, eyes heavy as they dragged towards the board. "I'm just listening. Please—be quiet."

Jen watched for it, silently, and when it never came, she frowned. That slightly frightened expression that came after Marley said something confident to Jen, the tenseness, the cheek bite, the big, round stare. They never appeared. Usually, Jen would laugh or grin to ease her worry, but that moment never came for Jen to respond that way.

She wanted to help weirdly, like a friend would, but she also felt Marley wouldn't talk—even if she tried to force it. So, she respected her wishes and zipped it, sighing and turning to the front of the room, watching Miss Lyons out of boredom. She felt Marley's sadness bugging her in the back of her mind, Jen's uselessness was frustrating.